


somehow escape the burning wait

by SebGray



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, F/F, F/M, Slow Burn, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:55:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21994093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SebGray/pseuds/SebGray
Summary: In which Caleb decides to take a sketching class, and he and Jester fall in big, stupid love. Featuring a big dumb lesbian and a cold-hearted bisexual.
Relationships: Astrid/Beauregard Lionett, Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 7
Kudos: 35





	somehow escape the burning wait

Caleb looked at the small computer screen in Nott’s office that displayed his would-be schedule. At this point in his education, making schedules was more of a “do whatever the fuck you want but don’t be stupid” policy than anything else, but Nott still insisted on walking him through it and giving him her recommendations. With anyone else, Caleb would’ve bristled at the control, but Nott was the closest thing he had to a family now beyond his pseudo-sister Beauregard and his ex, so he wasn’t complaining. She pointed at a class in the catalog with her cursor. “I think you should take this one too, Caleb. Diversify your classes a bit.”

Caleb leaned in, pushing up his glasses again in order to see the miniscule text. Intro to Sketching, Monday, Wednesday, Friday at nine in the morning. What the fuck was Nott thinking? He looked up at her with a glare and a raised eyebrow. “Really?”

“What? You need drawing skills as an engineer.” She was bluffing, and badly. He loved Nott but she was terribly obvious.

“For an architect, sure. Maybe for certain engineers. But for a computer engineer going into education?”

“Not every class has to be for your degree, Caleb! You’ve taken a bunch over the summer, and you’re way ahead in your plan. You can take something less intensive. Besides, it’s a new teacher, and she could use a good, hardworking student in her class.”

Ah. Now he got it. “You want me to take her class...to set me up with the teacher?” He’d be surprised if this hadn’t been her fifth attempt to set him up in the past year. Clearly she was getting desperate.

“It’s not just that, Caleb,” Nott said, clearly trying to back herself out of the corner she’d put herself in. “I’ve seen all those sketches you’ve made. You’re a very good artist, and I think it would be a good idea if you continued following that path. You don’t have to do anything with it, just take the class for a semester and see how you like it.”

Caleb sighed, stiffening a little. He hadn’t sketched since his first year of college, when Ikithon threw his sketchbook in the trash and told him to stop bothering. Artists don’t make money, he said. Artists don’t do shit. Stop wasting your time. Focus on studies. He’d only picked it back up again because Astrid and Wulf had quit the sciences and were now making heaps of money on selling art and starring in films. He’d never shown anything to anyone yet, but he must not have been as subtle as he thought he was. “Fine. I’ll take it. But if I hear another word from you trying to set me up--”

“Alright, alright,” Nott cut him off as she added the class to his schedule. “There. That should do it for your fall semester.” She saved the schedule and pressed the print button. “I’m also going to email you a copy as well, okay?”

“Danke,” Caleb said, grabbing the schedule from the printer as he stood. He checked over the calendar set up. Underneath “INTRO TO SKETCHING” was a small name. “Jester Lavorre”. “Oh, Jester Lavorre? Like the daughter of Marion Lavorre?”

“Yeah, that’s her. She finally managed to get Jester into a teaching position. One of the youngest professors we’ve had here. We’re all holding our breath to see if she’s any good.”

“No wonder.” Marion Lavorre was an alumna of the university, and one of the biggest donors. She practically funded the entirety of their newest art building, so of course she managed to get her daughter to be a teacher there. “How old is her daughter? I think we may have been in the same room, but I do not think we’ve been introduced.”

“She’s twenty-seven, I think? Beau said she’s twenty-seven.”

“Ah, Beau’s old roommate! That’s where I heard her name before.” Caleb tucked the schedule into his binder and sighed. “Now Beau’s going to pester me about her. Ah, well. I will see you soon?”

“Yep. I’ll see you soon, Caleb.”

Caleb nodded and left the office. As he traversed the hallway by rote, he pulled out his phone and checked the college website to see Ms. Lavorre’s profile. He found a section featuring a soft-faced woman with a million freckles, a grin that revealed a big dimple on her cheek, and navy blue hair. She graduated with a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from Xhorhas University as well, last year. He was surprised he didn’t recognize her. After all, she had been a student not too long ago. Caleb googled her name, found some of her social media. A lot of art, some aesthetically pleasing pictures of pastries, pictures of her weasel and a huge German Shepherd. Plus selfies. Lots and lots of selfies.

He briefly forgot where he was going when he was looking at a particularly nice one, and ran into the door. Caleb might’ve overheard some poor secretary snort.

Caleb quickly closed the tab and left the building, trying to regain some of his dignity. He texted Beau.

Caleb: Hey, Beau. Just got my schedule done. You are friends with Jester Lavorre, right?

Beau quickly responded.

Beauregard: oh shit i forgot shes teaching now

Beauregard: wait ur in her class? she only teaches art

Caleb: Nott insisted. It was not my idea.

Beauregard: i can tell dsjkfh

Beauregard: shes really cool tho. like ive seen her lesson plan and shit. it looks cool. if i could manage anything more than a stick figure id join for moral support.

Caleb: Ha ha.

Beauregard: but fr, its a good idea. i think she took some classes w astrid? idk, ask ur ex to confirm

Caleb: Speaking of, Astrid’s coming to Sunday brunch this week.

Beauregard: FUCKING FINALLY   
Beauregard: ik ur still kind of a thing but...holy shit shes hot send help

Beauregard: i may have stalked her instagram

Beauregard: ...more than once.

Caleb: Beau, you are the biggest disaster lesbian I know.

Beauregard: I KNOW IM SORRY BUT SHES SO HOT AND IM SO SINGLE SEND HELP

Caleb: Tell that to the dozen girls you keep hitting up.

Beauregard: HEY

Caleb: Oops, look at the time, have to conveniently talk to my “so hot” ex. Goodbye.

Beauregard: [middle finger emoji]

Caleb: :)

Caleb turned off his phone and tucked it into his back pocket as he cut through the grass towards the sidewalk, then headed towards the huge apartment building where Astrid now lived. It was ridiculously nice, but then again, what the hell else was someone like Astrid going to do with a multimillion dollar lawsuit payout and the ridiculous amount of money she’d gotten from selling her art? He poked the buzzer one second longer than he should have. Astrid’s sharp accent rang out from the tinny speaker a few seconds later. “I was right in the middle of my fucking debauchery, arschloch, what the fuck do you want?”

“I have some questions about a new professor. I am taking her class and want to know what I am getting into.”

“Ugh, fine, but I am not putting on pants.” The door unlocked and Caleb went inside, up the elevator to the sixth floor, and down the hall to her apartment, rapping a tune from The Nutcracker on her door. “It’s unlocked, fucker!” Astrid said, sounding a bit distant. Caleb went in.

Astrid was, in fact, not wearing pants, but she was also compensating by wearing a gigantic sweater that took over her small frame. The place was messy in an artistic way, with clothes perfectly draped over the couch, and posters of various art pieces covering the walls to the point of overlapping. Some of her own pieces, large abstract works on canvas, were hung up around the place. She seemed to be in the midst of cooking something. She rolled her eyes at Caleb as she stared at the microwave. “I was masturbating and you made me stop. Now I’m eating junk food to feel something akin to an orgasm.”

Caleb sighed. Her personality was one of the many reasons they’d never lasted as a proper couple. “You didn’t have to stop,” he sighed, sinking into her couch as he set his binder on the glass coffee table next to the art book she’d never read.

“What, do you want me to fucking walk to the door with a Hitachi between my legs?” Astrid glared at him from the kitchen.

“You have done weirder,” Caleb said with a shrug.

Astrid scoffed. “Take off your fucking shoes, at least.”

Caleb kicked off his shoes and tossed them next to the door, where several of her own pairs were neatly arranged. She sighed, but said nothing about it.

“So who’s the new teacher you are dying to interrupt me for?” Astrid turned around, fiddling with some antique golden locket she had around her neck. “Please tell me they’re at least cute.”

“Ah, well, Beau said you know her. A Jester Lavorre?”

Astrid narrowed her eyes, making them look even darker than normal. “You’re taking an art class?”

“How’d you guess?”

“Jester isn’t good at much besides art. Maybe, like, anatomy, but even then she isn’t smart enough to be a professor for it.” She moved to the mirror next to the door and fixed her short, choppy hair, which Caleb noticed was probably starting to grow too long for her liking.

“Well, Nott suggested it.”

“Of course she did,” Astrid said with a sigh. “Makes sense. Jester would probably be the type of person who’d suit you. Artistic, bisexual, eccentric.”

“By ‘eccentric’, I assume you mean ‘weird’?”

“Listen, Caleb, you have a type. It’s bisexual artsy-fartsy weirdos with very little sense of self-control and daddy issues.” The microwave dinged and she took out the ramen, stirring it in its plastic container with her fancy wooden chopsticks he’d seen her use on her hair when she used to keep it long. “She’s perfect for you.”

“I am not. Hooking up. With my professor.”

Astrid turned and gave him one of her trademarked “oh, really?” looks. She had it down to an art form at this point. If her expression was a watercolor piece she’d make millions off it.

He sighed. “Just tell me what she’s like? Please?”

“Fine, fine,” Astrid sighed and ripped open the flavor packet, dumping the powder in and stirring it. “We met when I started getting my bachelor’s here. She’s nice, but like in a sugar-sweet, secretly-lonely kind of way. Like Wulf before Dickithon.”

“Or Wulf now?”

She paused. “Yeah, that’s more like it.” Astrid stuck a bunch of steaming hot noodles into her mouth before letting out a string of curses and grabbing a can of LaCroix and guzzling it.

“She is beauty, she is grace,” Caleb teased.

“Shut up!” Astrid said. She grabbed the noodles and brought it over to the leather armchair across the room, plopping it on a table as she drank her sparkling water. As she sat, she draped her legs over one arm, positioning herself mostly sideways. “But yeah, she was more like Wulf is now. Still gonna talk your ear off, but with an added layer of sad under the surface.”

“Really? She doesn’t strike me as the sad type.”

“I wasn’t lying about the daddy issues. Her biological dad ditched her mom before she was even born, then the world’s biggest asshole since old Icky came along and took the poor woman in her talons and treated the two of them like shit. She never told me, like, the full extent, but apparently it wasn’t pretty. She spent a lot of time trying to scour the internet for traces of her real dad, but unfortunately she never found anything. Now her mom’s dating some rich socialite-lawyer woman or other, her ex stepdad died of alcohol poisoning, and apparently she’s managed to get into teaching at Xhor U with President Krynn being in charge. Her life’s probably the most together it’s ever been.”

“Damn,” Caleb said, nodding. At least she wasn’t completely naive. “I assume she’s heard about the Soltryce drama?”

“Oh yeah, a bunch. Her stepmom was familiar with the case, apparently. Drinking buddies with our lawyer or whatever.”

“Ah,” Caleb said, nodding. “Is she a spoiled brat? She must’ve been raised rich.”

“Not anymore, I don’t think? It has been a hot minute since we’ve talked, but she wasn’t as bad when we last spoke as she was when we first met. Nowadays she makes her own money. No matter what anyone says, Jester rightfully earned that job. Her shit sells for more than mine ever has. We ran into each other at an auction and I thought she was selling a kinda Photoshopped picture or something, but it was a sketch. Not even a painting, a fucking  _ sketch _ . She’s  _ that  _ fucking good.”

“Well, that’s good, considering I am taking her sketching class.”

“Good, that’s her strongest suit. Her paintings are good, but she doesn’t have as much experience with that.” Astrid returned to the noodles, blowing on them this time before eating them.

“Alright, good.”

Astrid nodded. “You know if she’s coming to brunch? I heard that she’s friends with Beau and Fjord and all your weirdo friends.”

“You call  _ them  _ weirdos?”

“Takes one to know one,” Astrid retorted.

“Touche,” mumbled Caleb. “I am not sure, but since Beau now knows I am taking her class, she just might fucking invite her.”

“Beau…” Astrid pausing, trying to think. “That’s the lesbian one, right?”

“She’s one of them.”

“The butch one?”

“Again, one of them. You’ve only eliminated one, maybe two of them?”

“Holy fuck you know a lot of lesbians,” Astrid murmured. She paused again, then added, “The disaster bottom?”

“Yep, that’s her.” Caleb nodded.

She chuckled. “Yeah. She’s cute. She single?”

“That’s what she says. Still gets love letters and sappy texts from a bunch of girls, though.”

Astrid nodded. “Mm. I see. Still, would it be alright if I hit her up? I know you two are, like, super close or whatever.”

“Ja, it’s fine. Just spare me the gory details.”

“Sweet. I haven’t topped a woman in way too long.”

“Didn’t need to know that.”

Astrid giggled. “Don’t be so shy. It’s not like you haven’t gotten the same damn treatment.”

He blushed and said nothing. 

With a smile, Astrid said, “Anyways, to get back on topic.” She paused to slurp up some noodles. “Jester is hopelessly, chronically single. She’s a huge romantic, gets crushes like crazy, but they never work out. She had a thing for Fjord, but he was never interested. She was kinda into Beau for a hot sec, but they never did anything. She had a crush on this Caduceus guy, and he’s gay and ace as fuck. Then she wanted to hook up with Molly, but they’re too intimidating. It always turned into some complicated fuckery, she’d get her heart stepped on, cry for a week straight, but then she’d bounce back like a rubber boomerang.”

“Why the fuck would you use a rubber boomerang?”

“I don’t fucking know, I don’t proofread my thoughts.” Astrid shrugged. “My point is, if you end up getting a crush on her, which I’m almost certain you will, because I know you, it’s either going to be the world’s best thing or it’s gonna turn into a Gordian fucking knot of feelings and you’re both gonna suffer.” She pointed at him with her chopsticks. “I am warning you because I like both of you two and I’d rather you not go through any more bullshit. The two of you have had enough for a lifetime.”

Caleb shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t get why all of you are saying I’m gonna get a crush on her.”

“Dude. I’ve known you for fifteen fucking years, and we were dating for a good chunk of that. I might not know Jester nearly as much, but I know you more than enough to know that she’s exactly the type of person you fall for, times ten.”

“We’ll just have to see.” Caleb shrugged and got up, heading towards the door.

“Aw, you’re leaving without even giving me an orgasm?” Astrid teased.

Caleb turned to her and glared. “You really think you’ve earned one?”

“Oh, honey, you think you can dom me? That’s cute.” Astrid sighed. “Well, then, shoo. I want to be able to get back into the mood before painting time.”

“Alright, alright.” He put on his shoes. “See you Sunday?”

“You will. Gilmore’s at ten?”

“Ja,” Caleb said, nodded.

“Got it. See you then.”

Caleb let himself out. As soon as he was gone, Astrid pulled out her phone and texted Jester.

Astrid: hey jes, it’s been awhile, but i got tea to spill

Jester: oh??????????? do share   
Astrid: my place. asap. my ex is your new student and while i normally don’t actively encourage student-teacher relationships, he’s an exception.

There was a pause. Then…

Jester: you sure? i really really really don’t wanna fuck this up. if president krynn catches me doing something like that my goose is FUCKED.

Astrid: i don’t think that’s the right way to word it but okay

Astrid: he super cute tho, plus he’s a year younger than me and good at keeping secrets [wink emoji]

Another stop.

Jester: fine

Jester: gimme a sec i gotta get dressed

Jester: ive been being lazy allllll day i need to actually get up

Astrid: sameeeeeeeee

Astrid: lemme finish this ramen and ill make myself look presentable

Jester: aight see u soon

Astrid: [heart kiss emoji]

Astrid shoved the remainder of her ramen into her mouth, drained her LaCroix, then got dressed. She chose a dark brown plaid dress with long enough sleeves to be warm but a short enough hem to still feel seductive or whatever. Her hair was easy enough to fix, and she put on a little more makeup to match her outfit. By the time she heard the repeated buzzes indicating Jester was there, Astrid was satisfied she could maybe woo her if she turned out not to be super into Caleb. She went over and let her in, then quickly assembled snacks and turned on her kettle.

Jester knocked, and Astrid opened the door for her. Her blue curls were a bit messy, tied up in fun buns but falling out. She wore an orange turtleneck sweater tucked into striped, multicolored pants, and she had an iced coffee with her. Immediately, she hugged Astrid, which was always the worst part of Jester. Astrid stiffened but tolerated it. If she had to deal with Jester’s hugs to potentially get her hitched with Caleb, so be it.

Jester sat down and took a long sip of her coffee and she began to munch on the chocolate-covered pretzels Astrid knew she’d like. “So. Who is this ex guy? Is he the cute one you still have a thing with?”

“Had,” Astrid corrected. “We used to be have a friends-with-benefits thing going on, but then his studies picked up and we stopped doing it and eventually we just called it quits and are just friends now.” She shrugged, getting up when the kettle clicked off. “But he’s also hopelessly single, and I’m pretty sure if it weren’t for his friends he’d only be doing schoolwork.”

“Oof, yeah. Then why do you think I would like him? He sounds kind of boring, even if he is cute.”

“Well, part of it is that he  _ is  _ cute,” Astrid poured the hot water into her tea steeper and stood by it as she waited. “And part of it is that beneath all the damage, he’s a genuinely nice guy. Way better than I deserve. Honestly, had I not been such a fuck-up we’d probably be married by now or something.”

“Don’t say that about yourself,” Jester chided.

“Jester, you don’t know what we were like at Soltryce. I crashed my car because I was driving drunk on the way to see him at the hospital while he was bleeding to death.”

Jester winced. “Yikes.”

“Ja. It was bad. But like, he’s super sweet and a huge romantic and great in bed--”

“Don’t tempt me, Astrid! This could be a really bad idea. If I get caught diddling a student, no matter what the circumstances, it could make me lose my teaching career, my art career, it could affect my mom--”

“Jes, trust me, I wouldn’t be suggesting something that was this dumb without one-hundred percent believing it’d be good for you. I may be a bitch, but I’m not  _ that  _ kind of a bitch.” She set the steeper on her favorite bisexual mug and let it pour out, then set it in the sink, taking the cup with her into the living room. She grabbed a cookie and sat down in her armchair. “I think it would work out for you, work out for Caleb, everything.”

Jester sighed, leaning back against the couch as she rubbed her face. “I can not believe I’m this desperate,” she groaned towards the ceiling.

“Oh, honey, I’ve been there.” Astrid dipped her cookie in for the perfect amount of time for it to be soggy without crumbling, then ate it. “If you wanna stop talking about it, that’s fine. All I was going to say was that someone will probably invite you to that brunch thing they’re all having, and Caleb won’t be able to ditch because he’s bringing me, and if he does, I’m going to wring his fucking neck.”

With a raised eyebrow, Jester looked up and asked, “You’re going to brunch with him? Why?”

“I may have heard that a particularly hot, particularly bottomy butch will be there.” Astrid sipped her tea.

“You’re going after Beau?” Jester asked, giggling as she grabbed another pretzel, somber mood now replaced with a wide grin. “You two would be so good together! You both have sad backstories and you’re not the most touchy-feely. Plus she thinks you’re hot.”

“Really?” Astrid grinned as she reached for another cookie. “You know what she’s into? I gotta know how to make her wet.”

“She acts like a top, but I don’t think she is. Also she really likes being roughed up. She does martial arts and boxing and you won’t believe the amount of times I’ve heard her jack it after getting beaten up by some lady.”

Astrid snorted a little of her tea. “Damn. That’s worse than Caleb. I thought he was a masochist.” Jester’s tan cheeks turned a bit rosy as she chuckled. “Anything else I should know?”

“Hair pulling, choking but not really choking, and apparently she one of those people who needs both clit stuff and vagina stuff going on at once to cum otherwise she can’t? I dunno, the most I’ve done with her is drunkenly flirt before passing out in the bathtub.” Jester shrugged and sipped more of her coffee.

“Got it.” Astrid had a clever memory, and she knew she was going to put that all to use really easily. “I think I’m gonna have fun making her squirm.”

Jester smiled. “Oh, please. She’s been bouncing around amongst all the queer girls in our social circle. She keeps on converting people, too? I love her but I’m sick of her whining about not dating anyone while she bounces from girl to girl to girl like she’s playing musical gays.”

“Oof,” Astrid said. “I can’t promise I will date her, but I definitely hit her up.”

“True. I hope you’re as good as you’ve bragged you are, because she could use a good friend-with-benefits thing.”

“I dunno, you could just ask Caleb.” Astrid winked.

Jester’s blush returned. “Do you...have any recent pictures of him? I may have tried to stalk him on the bus but his Twitter is a ghost town and I couldn’t find him on Instagram.”

“He’s not on social media much because he’s a nerd, but I have pictures.” Astrid pulled out her phone and went through her camera roll. Nudes, art, selfies, outfits of the day...there it was. She found her pictures of her, Wulf, and Caleb and sat down next to Jester. She pointed to Caleb. “That’s him. The other one’s Wulfie. Don’t fall for him, he’s aroace.”

Jester looked at Caleb. In the photo, they were at a bar, and he was leaning against the counter, face squished a little. His hair was a bit messy and long, his facial hair was scruffy. But she was still clearly transfixed. “Mind if I scroll through?” Astrid asked.

All Jester could do was nod. Astrid went to the next picture, them all together, making goofy smiles at the camera. Jester chuckled a little, hiding her smile behind her hand. Astrid could see the crinkle around her eyes, though. The next picture had Wulf driving, with Astrid taking a picture of Caleb in the back seat, flipping the camera off as he read a lengthy textbook. Jester leaned in. “Is he...what is he reading?”

“Something about economics in Soviet Russia or whatever. He was taking a summer class for it. He’s such a nerd he can’t even party without studying.”

“Hm.” Jester nodded. The final thing she had of them that was recent was a video. Astrid, Wulf, and Caleb were at Wulf’s apartment, which was somehow nicer than Astrid’s, watching Tangled and singing along. They were all pretty drunk, and goofy, and very, very offkey. But Caleb was smiling and laughing and flinging his arms wide. He danced with Wulf to “I See the Light”, holding him close. Astrid was dying laughing as they stumbled around, sloshed and clumsy. As the duet ended, Caleb and Wulf gave each other messy kisses on the cheek. The video ended, and Astrid looked up.

Yep, Jester was falling for him. She was red from hair-line to chin, and when the clip was finished, she looked like she had just been awoken from hypnosis. “You alright there, Jes?” Astrid asked, eyebrows raised as she turned off her phone.

Jester looked down and away, fiddling with a small paint stain on her jeans, picking it off the fabric as she raised the iced coffee to her lips. “I’m fine,” she mumbled.

“Uh huh, and I’m the President of Germany. Come back down, Jester.”

With a groan, Jester leaned back and said, “He’s so cute,” extending every word out to its maximum. “I’m gonna die when I meet him, Astrid.”

“Yes you will, but first you will date, because if you don’t do that he will be sad.”

She sighed. “This is bad. This was such a bad idea. How the hell do I give him a fair grade when I can’t even look at him without wanting to swoon?”

“You can be ruthless. I saw your evaluation of Cad’s work before you realized he was gay.”

“True. Ugh. But then I felt so bad after that. I was convinced he’d hate me.”

“Also, no offence to our dear Caduceus, but Caleb is a better artist. I haven’t even seen if he’s done anything new recently, but he used to be really good. Like, if it weren’t for the fact that Dickithon swooped up from hell to swallow us whole and spit us back out, he could’ve easily double majored in art and computer engineering. He was that fucking good. And he wouldn’t accept a class if he didn’t at least deep down think he’d be good at that, no matter what he says otherwise.”

Jester nodded. “I just don’t want to tear him down by accident, even without the whole crush thing. Just knowing what you guys went through. He had the worst of it, right?”

“Ja,” Astrid said, nodding sadly. “He did.” If it weren’t for sheer luck, he wouldn’t be alive today.

She shook away the memories. No use being sad when she had no booze on hand to wash it down with.

“Ja, but he’s better now. Not perfect, but better. Even if you guys don’t do anything, I think you’ll help him a lot. He’s had a lot of tougher teachers recently, and while I know you can be really tough, I don’t think you will be with your students.”

“Thank you,” Jester said, nodding. “That means a lot to me.”

“Of course.” Astrid said with a shrug, getting up. “So, if you ask Beau, do you think she’ll invite you to the brunch thing?”

“Probably. But do I want to?”

“I think you should. At least figure out a little of what he’s like.”

“But what if that makes it worse?” Jester asked.

“Then you know that before you have a class with the guy. And that way, he knows, too.” She sat back down and sipped some of her tea.

Jester sighed. “Okay. But don’t go out of your way to make us try to get together or anything. I just want to see him. Promise?”

Astrid paused. She was terrible at keeping promises. But Jester seemed almost terrified, and Astrid had seen what pushing two people together had done to her and Caleb. “Alright. I won’t try to set you up at the brunch. But I can’t make any promises for the weirdo friends you two have in common.”

“Wow, you call  _ them _ weird?” Jester giggled.

“ _ He said that exact same thing earlier, _ ” Astrid said, wide-eyed. Damn, they really were  _ made _ for each other.

“By the fucking--” Jester snorted, getting up. “I should go. Mama wanted me to visit some time today. Talk about art or whatever.”

Astrid nodded, sipping her tea. “Alright. Take the rest of those pretzels, I know you want them.”

“Thank you,” Jester said, smiling as she scooped up the remaining ones and headed out the door. “See you,” she said, smiling.

“See you,” Astrid said, winking as Jester left the apartment.

Her phone buzzed with a reminder. Damn it, she had no time left to masturbate.


End file.
